Regularly getting paid late

Under your contract of employment, you have a legal right to be paid on time. If your employer is regularly late paying your wages you can take steps to enforce your legal right to be paid on time.

First, you should try to resolve this dispute with your employer, by using any internal complaint or grievances procedures available. If this does not work and your employer is still paying you late, you can make a formal complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

At both stages, you should use any supports available, such as a trade union or your local Citizens Information Centre.

You should start by asking your employer to pay you on time and to pay any wages you are overdue. Your written terms of employment should state how often you are supposed to be paid (for example, weekly or monthly).

Make a formal complaint

If there is a complaint or grievance procedure at your workplace you should use this. Your employer should have written grievance and disciplinary procedures in place under the WRC’s Code of Practice: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. You should have got a copy of these at the start of your employment.

If you cannot resolve the problem by following your workplace grievance procedure, or if your employer does not have one, you may have to take your complaint further.

The WRC can adjudicate on disputes, grievances and claims made by individuals or small groups of workers under a range of employment legislation.

You can make a complaint under either the Industrial Relations Acts 1969-2015 or the Terms of Employment Acts 1994 and 2014. In either case, you start by applying to the Workplace Relations Commission, using the online complaint form.

You must make the complaint while you are still employed by the employer who is paying you late or within 6 months of leaving that employment.

If you bring a case to the WRC, the adjudicators may hold a hearing to investigate it. If your employer objects to a hearing, you should go to the Labour Court.

Following their investigation, the adjudicators will make a decision. Either you or your employer can appeal this decision to the Labour Court.

If you are consistently paid late by your employer, you have the option to resign and claim constructive dismissal because your employer has breached the terms of your contract. Before you do this, you should always get legal advice because proving constructive dismissal can be difficult.